The Things You Do For Your Children
by Rikuxe
Summary: An Umbreon takes care of his daughter and a young Fennekin in this cute story.
1. Chapter 1

_A Father's Work is Never Done_

(By the way, perspective is from an umbreon.)

It was the end of fall and several clouds filled the sky as the beginning of a new day came to pass. Swarms of starly and staravia flew past in the formation of v's. The small bodies of water frozen stiff. Few Pokemon were out in the open, the chilling air bit into even the furriest of pokemon, it has even started to snow. Most of them, like I, would stay in their den to keep warm. However, there are a few mischievous little ones that "refuse" to stay inside all day.

One of which was right in front of me doing something I couldn't even begin to comprehend. My sweet, Eevee daughter was running in and out of the entrance. I stood up and watched her. She ran outside yelling, "Adventure!" And then she stopped for a second. Running back jn, she was shivering and said, "Too cold, too cold." After a minute of warming up, she did it all over again.

I chuckled softly, "She's insane, just like her mother." My mate, Espeon, passed away shortly after Eevee was born. After her death, I was lost. I felt as if a had a huge hole in my stomach, a void i could never fill. I grew unhealthy because I couldn't get the motivation to eat even a little. I could barely even think straight, let alone take care of a child. I'm honestly not even sure how I managed it. I remember trying so hard to get Eevee to sleep, and then crying myself to sleep.

My thoughts were always along the lines of, "I can't keep this up. I'm nothing without Espeon. This would be so much better if she was here, huddled against my side like she always had when she slept. Maybe I fell into a coma and all of this is a feverish dream, or nightmare I should call it." Hell... I still think that from time to time. But in the end, I remember that Eevee needs me. I can't let her down. I can't lose my composure in front of her. I thank Arceus that she hasn't started asking about her mother.

I walked up to Eevee while she was about to run out again and I stepped on her tail, effectively stopping her in her tracks. She popped her head around to mine. She gave me a big smile. "Oh hi, daddy!" She struggled out of my grasp and started running a circle around me. "It's about time you woke up sleepyhead. We gotta get outta here."

I raised an eyebrow before asking, "What are you doing? Why do we need to get out?" I stopped her again and didn't allow her to wiggle loose.

"B-Because..." she answered, looking away.

I looked her in the eyes, "Because?...

She started jumping in place, "Because I'm bored! I have to go outside. If I don't, I'll literally explode!"

I rolled my eyes, "You know you'll freeze your butt off out there, right?

"Yeah, that's why I was trying to get a running start!" She shouted. I facepawed. "If I don't get out there I'll never start my adventure."

"Sweetie, I've already told you. You have to grow up before even thinking about that."

She pouted, "It's okay, I've already planned it all out. I'm gonna meet a nice trainer and we're gonna grow really strong and beat up all the gym leaders and their pokemon. And then we'll be champions, just like you were."

"Well, I got lucky. Not all trainers are as nice as my trainer was. And it took us years to get that point, okay? There isn't a guarantee that you'll get that far.

"Maybe I'll be lucky, too! When we do become champions, you'll be cheering me on from the sidelines!" Her naive nature really worries me. "Course you won't be doing much cheering considering how fat you'll be.

I blinked, confused. "Wh-What?! I'm going to be fat? Why?"

She giggled, because we won so much money that we bought all the food in the world! And you couldn't help yourself. You ate half of it and got as big as our den!" She raised her paws up into the the air, trying to show how big I'd be.

At a loss for words I simply said, "Um... all right..."

"Let's go outside now!" She announced, leaving the cave again. I followed her. She was noticeably shivering.

"We can't stay out here, you'll get a cold." She ran around me and jumped onto my back. I flinched, but then looked back at her.

She grinned, nuzzling into the fur on the back of my neck. "Daddy's fur is so soft... "

I couldn't help but to smile a little, "Don't ever change." I whispered. I then heard her breathing becoming steady as she fell asleep. I scoffed, turning around and heading back inside. "Let's take a little nap, first."

Eevee is my daughter and I'm happy I have her. She is my reason to live and breathe. I love her so much...

I laid her down and in a sing-song voice, I sang, " You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Pl-Please..." my voice broke, " don't take my s-sunshine away..."


	2. Chapter 2

_Rude Awakening_

"Daddy!" A certain little eevee shouted. I rolled over and grumbled, my ears were slightly ringing. "DADDY! Wake up." I could feel her biting on my ears.

When I couldn't take it anymore, I sighed and sat up. "Okay okay, I'm up." Yawning, I looked to eevee, who was crouched down a few feet in front of me. My eyes went wide as I realized what she was doing. With a pounce, she knocked me back on the ground. I grunted as I felt the back of my skull impact with the ground. "It's too early for this..." I sighed, "You know, if you keep screaming, you're gonna end up starting an avalanche."

"There's no mountains near here."

"As far as you know."

She was giggling uncontrollably. "Guess what. It's not cold anymore!"

"Really?" I asked, "It should still be freezing."

"Yeah, let's go!" She ran outside. I stretched for a few seconds before begrudgingly following after her.

"I guess we should get some breakfast."

"Awesome! I didn't even think of that, I'm starving." She rubbed her belly, but then sprinted off again.

"Don't get too far ahead of me." I told her. She was sort of right. It wasn't warm, but the temperature was bearable. There was still a sheet of snow covering the ground and it was mostly cloudy in the sky. The little cub was running from one thing to another, her curiosity having her mess with everything. She didn't stay in one place for more than a few seconds. She seemed to really like making shapes in the snow.

"Hey daddy, look." The little fur ball ordered from behind me. She had her paw on one of my pawprints; her paw was a little over half the size of mine. "I used to be able to put both my paws in."

"You're growing up, sweetie." Her face brightened up and she ran around me. "Not many others seem to be out at the moment." I said.  
Eevee shook her head, "Their loss!" I rolled my eyes, before catching sight on the reason I came out here.

"There are some berries." I stated as I pointed towards a pecha berry tree. Luckily pecha berries still ripen during the winter.

"Yay!" Eevee ran to the tree and looked up at it, " um... can you help me..." she asked.  
I grinned, "Nah, you've got this."

She frowned at me before turning back to the tree. "Okay..." She hopped into the air, maybe making it up a foot. Nowhere near close. She hopped again, reaching out, still no good. Then, she turned towards me with pleading eyes.

I chuckled "Fine, fine." I nimbly jumped onto the trunk and ran up it with ease, landing on a low branch. I looked down to her, grinning. Envious, she stuck out her tongue at me. "Alright, catch the berries I drop. We can get a few extra while we're at it." She got under me and I proceeded to shake another branch, knocking a few loose.

After about ten minutes of this, I jumped down. My jaw dropped at the sight of my daughter. She was covered in pecha berry juice, smiling at me. "Some didn't make it..." She answered sheepishly. Beside her was a pile of about half of what I dropped. The rest, she was wearing.

I sighed, "I guess we'll wash up before eating." I led her to a small pond, her feet squishing with every step, leaving a trail of pink behind her.

"Whoo!" She cannon balled into the water. The entire pond went pink in seconds. She thrashed around in the pool of water shouting, "Cold! Cold!"

"Well, it definitely wasn't going to be hot."

After a few minutes, she hopped out, sopping wet. She shook out her fur, getting me soaked, too. She ran off again.

I looked down to the pond, still pink. "I guess I'll take a bath later..."

"Dad?" Eevee said without her usual cheeriness.

I turned around to find her looking over a small cliff. What is it?"

"Th-There's a girl down there..." She answered, sounding worried.

"What?" I walked over to her. Sure enough, there was a bundle of yellow and red fur at the foot of this cliff. She looked to be very young, maybe around Eevee's age and she was unconscious. "Stay here." I ordered her and climbed down the cliff.


	3. Chapter 3

_The Flames of the Soul Burn Bright_

I climbed down the cliff with little difficulty, leaving Eevee at the cliff. When I touched ground at the bottom, I headed to the small pokemon. A bundle of yellow and red fur was lying still, shivering ever so slightly. It was a young Fennekin

"Hey... are you okay...?" I asked as I gently prodded her side. She didn't respond. This close, I could see the slow and weak breathes she took fogging up in front of her muzzle. She was freezing, I've got to get her to somewhere warmer.

I didn't waste a second as I lowered my head under her belly. I lifted her up and slid her down my neck and onto my back, where I secured her with my tail.

"Daddy?" My daughter shouted from the cliff.

"Go to the den and wait for me there." I ordered. Surprisingly, she didn't argue and quickly did as I said. I made my way back up the cliff, carefully taking my time to keep the little cub from falling off. I reached the top and headed back in the direction of my den. Then, I noticed the pecha berries lying forgotten next to the tree. My eyes glowed a soft shade of blue as I used psychic, effectively suspending it in midair following behind me.

I walked through the mouth of my cave and Eevee intercepted me, bombarding me with questions. "Who is she? Is she okay? Why was she all alone in the snow?" I shushed her and she sheepishly backed up. Her eyes were focused on our unconscious visitor. I lowered the fennekin onto a pile of leaves, my makeshift bed.

"Don't worry..." I tried to reassure my daughter; although, I didn't sound quite so sure of myself. What the hell am I gonna do? I'm not a doctor. But I couldn't leave her out there, she's just a little girl. I sighed heavily and gave a few berries to Eevee. I ate one and then tried to see if I could get the Fennekin to eat one. She didn't budge so I figured I would try again later.

I remembered something about fennekins eating twigs to power their fire type moves. It might help to strengthen her inner fire and help her recover. "Eevee, stay here with her. I'm going to get some things."

She looked up at me and nodded, "Okay."

I headed out again, easily finding a pine tree. Using headbutt, I crashed into the tree. A few branches fell onto the ground. I repeated this process until I had a decent pile of twigs and splinters. I used psychic again and brought them home.

I couldn't help but to smile at the cute sight on my bed. I was gone for maybe twenty minutes and the fennekin was no longer shaking with Eevee curled up around her.

"Eevee?" She popped her head up and then ran to meet me.

"She looked cold so I hugged her." The little brown fox smiled widely. "You always make me warm when you hug me."

I patted her on the head and proceeded to put the pile in front of the fennekin. "Eevee, that was very sweet, but you probably shouldn't do something like that with someone you've never met before."

"I just wanted her to be warm." She said with watery eyes.

"Mmmmm. I looked over to the fennekin who was slowly coming to. She opened her amber eyes, looking around. She jumped straight up "Where am I?!" She struggled around, trying to run, but merely landed on her face. She was too exhausted to get anywhere. She's still feeling the effects of almost freezing to death.

"You're okay, you're safe." I quickly said, trying to calm her down.

"Really! We're taking care of you." Eevee piped in, excited about her being awake.

She didn't look convinced, but stayed quiet anyways.

"Take these, you must be starving." I said in a gentle voice as I handed the Fennekin a few berries and twigs.

She stared at me cautiously, as if I was about to attack at any second. After a very quiet moment she took a small sniff of one of the berries. She then took a small bite, still looking at me.

In an instant, she seemingly turned ravenous as she scarfed down all the berries.

"Hehe, you really are hungry!" Eevee stated, giggling.

"That's not polite." I scolded her, as I passed a few more berries over.

The Fennekin blushed heavily, this time eating much slower. She indulged herself in a few of the twigs.

"Where are your parents?" I questioned her. She frowned and shook her head. I took that as she isn't going to answer me. "Okay, then... Why were you out here alone?"

"Unh uh." She shook her head again.

"Fine. Is there anything you will tell me?"

She looked at me with a timid look. "I-I'm thirsty..."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Tsk, now I've got to deal with two children." I said under my breath. "I'll be right back." I walked outside to find some fresh water. Behind me, Eevee quickly started to ask a bunch of questions while simultaneously running around the poor Fennekin who adopted a bewildered look, watching the Eevee. She's not going anywhere, I'll get some answers out of her later.


	4. Chapter 4

**Your Heart Lies With Your Friends**

"Tag! You're it." Eevee shouted before sprinting away from the poor Fennekin she had just tackled to the ground. The little fire-type quickly recovered and glared her attacker.

"You don't have to be so aggressive." She growled. Despite her reaction, she chased after Eevee with vigor.

Eevee giggled while running and looked back to her, "But then it wouldn't be so much fun!" She made a large circle around the inside of the entire den. I merely sighed as I watched them run around, Fennekin was slowly gaining on my daughter. _Wow, she really wants to catch Eevee._ She got near the brown fox's tail and then pounced, resulting in the both of them tumbling along the ground.

"Got ya!" Fennekin stood up, breathing heavily. "That's what you get for tackling me when I wasn't ready."

Eevee jumped back to her feet, "Be more ready, then." She simply said.

"What?! So I'm supposed to think you're gonna jump me all the time?" The fire fox shook her head, "That's silly."

Good! You know what's expected of you." Eevee grinned. Fennekin rolled her eyes. "Hey, one more thing."

Fennekin sighed, "What is it?" She said half-heartedly.

Eevee gave a mischievous look, "Oh nothing, just... Sneak attack!" She gasped as Eevee knocked her down once more. Fennekin frowned at her, fuming. "By the way, you're it." She then ran off again.

 _I saw that coming._ I chuckled, glad it wasn't me getting pounced on for once.

It has been five days since we found Fennekin at the foot of that cliff. She seems to have fully recovered and even though she and my daughter have their differences (many differences I might add), they seemed to kick it off and are like the best of friends. It was great for Eevee, she usually doesn't have much contact with other Pokemon that are near her age. If it was possible, She acted more lively now. It was nice to have somebody new around to spice things up, I was enjoying her presence here, as well.

I thought back to when I first saw her, unconscious in the snow. I imagine she was either lost or she was trying to run away from something. Whatever it is, I need to find out. Wherever her parents are, they must be worried sick. I know I would be. I'll have to ask her again, no matter how much she doesn't want to talk about it, she'll have to come to terms with it soon enough.

"Girls!" I called. They stopped in their tracks and came over to stand before me. Both of them with their tongues lolled out and trying to catch their breath. Fennekin looked nervous and stood a little closer to Eevee. "Oh, calm down. You aren't in trouble or anything." She did appear more calm, but she was still a little behind Eevee. "Anyways, It's actually much warmer outside. So, I was wondering if you two would like to go swimming."

Eevee's face brightened up considerably, "Swimming? Yes, yes, yes!" The little one behind her sheepishly nodded.

"I guess it's settled then, let's go swimming." Eevee charged outside. I followed after her, but when I got to the mouth of the cave, I noticed Fennekin wasn't moving. "Fen?! What are you doing? Let's go." She finally headed towards me, but looking even more apprehensive than before. When she got to me, I stopped her. I lifted her chin to look her in the eyes. "What's wrong?"

Surprised, she froze for a moment. She then looked away, embarrassed with a noticeable blush she quietly said, "I... I don't know how... how to swim..."

"That it?" I asked, letting go of her.

She looked up to me again with her brow furrowed, confused. "Um... uh, yeah?"

"Then you have no reason to be so embarrassed." I turned and started to walk in the direction of the lake.

I heard her run to catch up with me. "Bu-But, I can't swim. I've been made fun of because I can't swim"

"Do you really think that we'll make fun of you for something as silly as that?"

Bewildered, she stuttered, ":N-No, I guess not..."

"As you said, you don't know how to. The only way to remedy that is to learn how."

For the rest of the walk she remained silent until we reached the small lake where Eevee was hopping around, "Where were you? You took forever." She chirped impatiently.

"Calm down, we're here now, aren't we?"

"I guess so..." She stopped hopping and was the first to dash towards the water. She spared no time and jumped in, only to hop right back out. "Come on Fen, let's go." She ran around the fire fox, pushing her towards the water. Fennekin gritted her teeth, trying her best to fend off Eevee's advances by pushing back. "Come on! We're never going to get to the water this way."

I tapped Eevee on the shoulder, "You go ahead, sweetie. I want to show Fen some things.

She sighed, but reluctantly headed back to the water, "Okay, just hurry up, please" She gave the cutest expression she could with a little pout. I leaded the Fennekin over to another side of the lake.

"Shouldn't you be watching her, or something?..." She said with a little worry in her voice.

What? Eevee? No, don't worry. She's been able to swim ever since she was a baby. She can probably swim better than I can"

"Oh, okay..."

Just you wait, by the end of the day, you'll be swimming like a pro." I encouraged her. "I do have one question, though. Why'd you agree to swimming?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, I guess because Eevee wanted to."

I nodded. "Yeah, she has that effect on people."

She smiled a little, "I'm not sure how to thank you..."

I smirked, patting her on the head. "It's not a problem. I don't know where you came from or why you're here, but what's important is that you're here now. Eevee really needed a friend her own age" The Fennekin turned towards me and gave the biggest grin she could. I gave a small laugh. _What a silly little girl._

And that finishes chapter four. Thank you for reading this far. =^_^=

The next chapter will shed some light on Fennekin's background, look forward to it.

Comment down below what you think it will be about. Or you could comment what you the future has in store for this family. Till next time.

 _Uxe out_


	5. Chapter 5

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

It had been a few hours since we enjoyed the swim and Fennekin was especially happy with being able to swim on her own, albeit only for short periods of time. I had both of them lie down for the night before I went outside to gather a few berries for the following breakfast. I got a good supply of Oran berries and quickly made my way back.

It was nights like this that made me feel at peace. A full and luminescent moon giving a small glow to the world beneath it. The forest around me almost silent, aside from the occasional frittering from a few bug Pokemon. I marveled at the beauty of the lake as I passed by, the starry night reflecting off the calm surface.

My own ruby red eyes stared back at me. My sleek black fur had a sort of shine to it, as it should. I took care of myself. I would never want my daughter to see me so broken and disheveled like I was after my mate passed away ever again. She was so strong back then, and at such a young age, too. I couldn't do anything for a week from the sheer shock, other than gather some food. She makes me so proud. She's so silly, but when something serious occurs, she acts so mature. My daughter is my reason for living, and it makes my world to see her happy. She'll grow into a fine woman one day, I know it. I guess that's the effect children have on you.

I dipped a foreleg into the chilling water for a split second to watch the seemingly glass-like surface ripple away the image it was mirroring. I caught something slightly red in the corner of my eye. My sight flicked to the left to see an unkempt fennekin. "Fen?" I called, catching her attention. She looked at me with slight fear, as if she had done something bad. I walked over to her. As soon as I got within a few feet from her, she instantly started firing off apologies.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave, I- I just couldn't sleep. I'm sorry." I rolled my eyes in exasperation, telling her to calm down.

"It's okay, just tell me next time." She drooped down before nodding. "What's got you so down anyway?"

She shook her head, "I don't know." An obvious lie.

I sighed at her answer. "Its okay, you can tell me."

Her eyes watered a little bit. She stayed silent, thinking hard. "Okay..." She looked into my eyes, still quiet.

I gave a small forced smile before softly saying, "Just say it."

"I..." The fire fox hesitated once more. "I used to be a trainer's Pokemon!" She said quickly. Looking to me as if she expected me to react in some way. "He- He treated me badly, punishing me whenever I didn't win." She was in full blown tears now, nearly screaming. "I didn't want to fight other Pokemon! Some were even younger than me. My trainer just kept yelling commands at me. And then he'd insult me whenever I missed or cried... I didn't want to... He would make me fight his other Pokemon, too. All they said was sorry as they threw me into tree after tree! I would scream 'why?!' and they just gave me pitiful looks."

I couldn't help looking a bit half-cocked. I was frozen from all the information being thrown at me. My heart sank as I looked into her tearful eyes. I grabbed her, pulling her into my embrace. She cried into my shoulder. "It's okay now... you don't have to do that anymore..."

She sobbed even more, having a little trouble breathing. "I would be if it wasn't for Fury... She's the only reason I got away. And now I'm free and she's still with that evil man." I hugged her tightly, still a bit at a loss for words. "What if... what if he finds out Fury helped me and hurts her. I don't know how I'd be able to live with myself!"

* * *

Still unsure of what to say, I merely hugged her tighter. Letting her cry herself out. After about ten minutes, she fell asleep on me. With care, I put her on my back and took her back to the den. Almost forgetting the berries.

POV Change: 3rd person, edge of the forest

A young man looked out to the forest before looking down at a chain fence that separated it from the rest of the world. A sign on the front read, "LILY RESERVE, NO ENTRY." Underneath that, in bold print it read, "THOSE WHO DISREGARD THIS SIGN AND TREAD ON THIS RESERVE WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW"

The young man gave a mischievous grin, pulling a red and white orb out of his jacket. "We'll see about that." He threw the ball and a drapion erupted from it and slashed through the fence with a roar. He threw out three more balls. A flareon, gengar, and charizard stood before their trainer. "I think it's about time we got our fennekin back. To think that devious little brat had the gourd to run away. She's a stickler for punishment." He said, enjoying himself way too much. The flareon looked to her trainer with fear and resentment. "Fan out, She can't have gone far." He climbed onto the drapion's back and all except the flareon dashed into the forest.

She sat there trembling. A tear ran down her cheek as she looked to the forest. "Why couldn't he just forget about her?..." She quickly shook her head. "I have to find her first! I won't let him hurt her!" She ran into the forest, biting her tongue in frustration. The only thought in her head being "Please let me find her first..."


End file.
